The Waipu, Onerahi and Hikurangi parades all received $3500, but due to a concern about the way the previous year's grant was spent, the council opted not to fund Kamo's parade this year.
Kamo Community Inc chairman Lindsay Caley said there was a misinterpretation and they went back to the council with more information.
"We provided the documentation and pointed our where the misunderstanding could have taken place."
He said the traffic management company had given them a discount, which meant they had some money from the council's grant left over.
Mr Caley said the society notified the council this was the case and offered to give it back.
When the surplus was queried, the society indicated it would like to use it for signage. He said councillors had been supportive the whole way through.
Mr Caley said the parade had about a 40-year history and the council had been funding it in some way for 'many years'. He was relieved the funding for this year had now been confirmed.
"We're right in the depth of organising now."
He said aspects such as the road closure needed to be organised ahead of time and the society needed to know the funding would be behind them.
Mr Caley said the parade cost between $7000 to $9000 to run and the organisers applied for funding from other sources.
He said the parade would not have been lost if the council had not agreed to fund it, but it would have been smaller and they may have used money from their own pockets.
"We weren't prepared to give it up. It's done for everybody in Whangarei."